Greek Goddesses
by UnluckyXStar
Summary: Greek Goddesses The Major Ones
1. AUTHOR NOTE

**AN: Hey you guys This IS From My web sight so if it says see in myth pages or something IGNORE IT OKAY Chill People so enjoy The story!**


	2. Gaia

Greek Goddesses

**Gaia**

**Background**

Gaia, more frequently spelled Ge, was the Earth. She is rarely even referred to as a deity, she is more a power. What is. She was one of the firsts. Well, one of the firsts in some versions. There are actually a couple of different Creation myths, and not all of them include Gaia (I know, it shocked me, too). The original Greek Mythology (ie, pre-Classical) was Pelasgian myth (the Pelasgians came to Greece from the Asia Minor 3,000 years before Hesiod). The Pelasgian creation story focuses on Eurynome , the _Goddess of All Things_. Here, we will focus on Gaia. There are two parts: .

"First in my prayer, before all other deities,  
I call upon Gaia, Primeval Prophetess . . .  
The Greek great earth mother."  
~_Aeschylus_~

**Creation of Her**

There are two accepted versions of Classical creation: Hesiod's and Ovid's. Both versions begin with Gaia's emergence from Chaos. She has a parthenogenic birth (ie, only one parent needed). According to Ovid, Gaia pretty much just appeared (similar to the Judeo-Christian creation story). After her birth, Ovid continued to see the hand of a Creator at work (an un-named Creator), who populated Gaia with the necessary mountains, seas, flora, and fauna. I much prefer Hesiod's version.

Before I tell you about what Hesiod had to say, I'm going to give you this wonderful quote from his creation story:

Gaia, the beautiful, rose up,  
Broad blossomed, she that is the steadfast base  
Of all things. And fair Gaia first bore  
The starry Heaven, equal to herself,  
To cover her on all sides and to be  
A home forever for the blessed Gods.

And now back to the story. According to Hesiod, the first beings sprang into existance without cause or explanation. After Gaia came Tartarus (the lowest level of the Underworld, also viewed as a sort of huge cave or pit) and then came Eros: Erotic Love. Chaos continues her parthenogenic streak, giving birth to Erebus and Nyx. In her sleep, Gaia gives parthenogenic birth to Uranus (the Universe, who emerges as big and powerful as Gaia) and Pontus (the Sea, and the God of the Sea). Uranus, bursting (literally) with love for Gaia (possible only by the creation of Eros, you see), showers her with fertile rain and **this** is how Gaia gives birth to the rest of creation (you remember, seas, mountains, etc. - we already covered this with Ovid). Gaia and Uranus also gave birth to the Titans, the three Cyclopes and the three Hundred-Armed Giants.

**Kids**

There aren't tons of stories about Gaia. She's important, yes, and she shows up a lot, but not so much as an active participant in the story so much as a default womb and mother. She has LOTS of kids. And what really makes her special is that she can have these kids without active participation by a father. In many ways the Universe was created by her alone (okay, not really - but she did give birth to her son Uranus who then became her partner in the whole populating space thing). Once, Zeus had a wet dream at night that got Gaia pregnant, too (the child of that union was Agdiatis).

There's a bunch of other mentions of her giving birth to people (especially men) - one of the most important was Erichthonius, who founded Athens.

Gaia's Children Include:

**Uranus** (yes I know he was her "husband" - but he was also her son - very Oedipal isn't it?...)

**50-Headed, 100-Armed Giants**: Cottus, Briareus, and Gyges

**The Cyclopes**: Brontes, Steropes, and Arges (Cyclope means _Wheel-Eyed_

**The Titans**: Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Cronus, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Pheobe, and Tethys

**The Erinyes**: Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megara

**Giants**: born full-grown with armor and spears, ouchies for Gaia

**Meliads**: otherwise known as the Ash Tree Nymphs

Aetna, Eurybia, Nereus, Phorcys, Ceto, Thaumas, Atlas, Acheron, Antaeus, Agdistis, Erichthonius, Hyllus, Dreams, Python, the list goes on.

Don't know who your mama is? That's okay, Gaia's the default, and you can always accurately claim her. A good mythical example of this is when Pyarrha and Deucalion had to throw their mothers' bones over their shoulders! Yay Ge!

**The King Must Die**

Forgive me for ripping off Mary Renault's title, but if there's any goddess the idea really relates to, I think it would be Gaia. The theory is that every year the king was ritually sacrificed (killed by a rival, sacrificed in public, or only metaphorically murdered) to renew the land and the fertility of the kingdom. I'm not really gonna get any further into that because it's not actually from any Greek myth in particular, but it does seem like at least a decent introduction to the myth in which Gaia took her most active role.

So, Gaia and Uranus had a whole bunch of babies, as described above. Uranus, like many men, did his part in creating the children, but wasn't ready to be a daddy and tried to stuff the new life back into Gaia's womb. Then he tried to keep the kids inside her by blocking the entrance. With his own genitals. Can you imagine? Well, Gaia turned around (inside?) and gave her youngest son, Cronos (the Titan) a scythe to cut off his papa's penis and free the children. As a consequence, Cronos also took over as the Big God In Charge - a role previously held by Uranus, despite the appearance that it was Gaia with the real , despite getting how he was put into power, Cronos only repeated the cycle. He put the Giants and the Cyclopes into Tartarus (deep pit type of jail) and whenever his wife, Rhea, gave birth, he swallowed the baby. He was threatened, it appears by this whole biological process that was beyond his control. After five pregnancies and five births and five babies devoured, Rhea went to Gaia and the two conspired to keep her youngest son - Zeus- from being swallowed and then got Cronos to vomit up the other ingested gods. With the promise from Zeus that he would free the other children of Earth, Gaia supported him in overthrowing Cronos and the rule of the Titans.

Will it surprise you to learn that Zeus did not remain true to the women who made him and put him in power? Almost immediately he stuck Gaia's monstrous children back in Tartarus. And when his woman, Metis, became pregnant, he started getting worried that like father like child. But he had learned more from his mothers than they intended. Rather than try to force his mate into submission or to steal her progeny, he skipped that altogether by swallowing her! When she gave birth, it was inside his body, and the child, Athea, had to be born of HIS body. By co-opting the labor and the birth, he kept Athena from any allegiance to a mother and broke the cycle of Kings dying to maintain the proper balance of Earth. The power of fertility was usurped by the patriarchy and Gaia stopped, for the most part, involving herself in the lives of her children.

Oh Goddess, Source of Gods and Mortals,  
All-Fertile, All-Destroying Gaia,  
Mother of All, Who brings forth the bounteous fruits and flowers,  
All variety, Maiden who anchors the eternal world in our own,  
Immortal, Blessed, crowned with every grace,  
Deep bosomed Earth, sweet plains and fields fragrant grasses in the nurturing rains,  
Around you fly the beauteous stars, eternal and divine,  
Come, Blessed Goddess, and hear the prayers of Your children,  
And make the increase of the fruits and grains your constant care, with the fertile seasons Your handmaidens,  
Draw near, and bless your supplicant


	3. Hestai

**Hestia**  
Goddess of Hearth and Home

Hestia, in the high dwellings of all, both deathless gods and men who walk on earth, you have gained an everlasting abode and highest honor: glorious is your portion and your right. For without you mortals hold no banquet, - where one does not duly pour sweet wine in offering to Hestia both first and last.  
~Homeric Hymn to Hestia~

Of all of the Gods, Hestia was the mildest, the most tender and loving, and the most forgiving. She was kind of the anti-hubris. One of the kind of cool things about her is that she was the first AND the last born of Cronos. You see, as the first born, she was the first swallowed, and therefore the last to be disgorged. As the last disgorged, she was his youngest child. There is a wonderful passage about her in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite. There she is described as a queenly maid whom both Poseidon and Apollo sought to wed. But she was wholly unwilling, and stubbornly refused; and touching the head of father Zeus who holds the aegis, she, that fair goddess, swore a great oath which has in truth been fulfilled, that she would be a maiden all her days. So Zeus the Father gave her an high honor instead of marriage, and she has her place in the midst of the house and has the richest portion. In all the temples of the gods she has a share of honor, and among all mortal men she is chief of the goddesses.

To make that passage a little clearer: Once, Apollo and Poseidon came forward as rivals looking for her hand. Now, that had the potential to turn into something pretty ugly, and Hestia knew it. So she turned to Zeus and said that she would remain a virgin forever. Zeus understood her actions and was very grateful, so greatful that he awarded her the first victim of every public sacrifice for keeping the peace on Olympus.

Hestia had no problem keeping her promise to stay a virgin, except for one time. See, all the Gods had just been to a killer party and everyone was passed out all over the room. Hestia was asleep too (but not from overindulgence). Well, Priapus (this short ugly dude with HUGE genitalia) was very drunk and not asleep and had gone over to Hestia planning on making love to her. But as he was lowering himself onto her, an ass (the symbol of lust) brayed and Hestia woke up to see Priapus and his genitalia lowering down. She screamed. And I mean SCREAMED! And Priapus got scared and skittered away so Hestia's virginity was retained.

Hestia, as _Goddess of the Hearth_, protects all suppliants at every private house and city hall. None may be turned away lest they offend Hestia. Her fire is truly sacred, and if a hearth goes cold (from neglect or mourning) it is relit with something called a firewheel. The center of Greek life was the domestic hearth which was also the sacrifical altar. Hestia, as Goddess of the Hearth, also reigned over personal security and happiness and the sacred duty of hospitality. Hestia is also credited with the invention of building houses. When children were born, before they could be accepted as part of the family, they had to be walked in a circle around the symbol of Hestia that was in every home and prayers had to be said to the gentle Goddess.


	4. Demeter

**A Quick Summary**

Demeter was the second eldest of the gods and really chill. She was pretty important as a fertility deity, and was often syncretized with other goddesses like Rhea and Gaia and with Roman Ceres and "Phrygian" Cybele. Though she never married, she was no stranger to the arts of love (well, duh, for a fertility goddess). In fact, her priestesses initiated brides and grooms into the "secrets of the couch." While she was still young she and Zeus got jiggy with it and produced Persephone (called Kore, or Girl) and Iacchus (which means _Boisterous Shout_ by the way). The Titan Iasius was her second love interest - they met each other and fell in love at the wedding of Cadmus and Harmoina. After drinking way too much nectar to be good for one's judgement, they left the party and made love openly in a "thrice-ploughed field" When they got back to the party with that "after-glow" Zeus figured out what had happened immediately. The fact that they were both covered in mud in all the wrong places might have aided his discovery just a tad. So, Zeus gets all jealous and throws a thunderbolt at poor Iasius and killed him. Other versions say his brother Dardanus killed him, or that his horses killed him.

**Mortal Foolishness**

This couldn't have been good for Demeter's feelings for Zeus. But she remained a happy goddess, only getting really mad at one person. That person completely deserved it though. His name was Erysichthon, or _Earth Tearer_. So, this young cocky man led a group of twenty men into one of Demeter's SACRED GROVES. It was planted for Demeter by the Pelasgians at Dotium. This by itself was enough to constitute serious punishment, but it doesn't end there. Apparently Erysichthon was building a new banqueting hall, and hoping to find cheap wood. He started cutting down the sacred trees to provide timber for his little building project. I would have flipped out, personally, but Demeter - the chill goddess that she was - merely took the form of Nicippe (that means _Conquering Mare_ by the way), the priestess of the grove, and calmly ordered him to stop. At that, Erysichthon raised his axe and threatened to cut **her** down. At that point Demeter had had enough. She changed back to her true form and cursed him to be eternally hunger. The more he ate, the hungrier and thinner he got. He ate his parents out of house and home (literally) and then went to the streets, where he ate the dirt. But she wasn't just punishing. This one guy, Pandareus the Cretan, stole Zeus's golden dog and she gave him the gift of NEVER getting a stomach-ache. Remember, she was bitter about Zeus's anger management problems resulting in a dead lover.

**The Abduction of Kore**

So you see, Demeter was a very happy goddess. Until the day came when Kore, who after this became Persephone, was abducted. When that happened, Demeter lost her joy and went searching the Earth for her. As it happened, searching the Earth wasn't going to do much good. Persephone had been abducted by Hades, and he wasn't letting her go without a fight. Eventually Hermes came down and Hades **HAD** to let her go, but because she's eaten seven pomegranate seeds she had to stay there for three months out of the year.. So, back to Demeter. She went searching for nine days and nights, calling out for her daughter, not eating or drinking. Only Hecate could tell her anything. She recounted a tale of hearing Persephone's voice crying, "A rape! A rape!" and trying to rescue her, but never finding her

On the tenth day, Demeter went to Eleusis in disguise. There King Celeus and Queen Mataneri entertained her and graciously offered her the position of wet-nurse to their son Demophoon. lambe, a slave in the house (and the daughter of Pan andEcho), tried to cheer Demeter up with silly lascivious verses (iambic verse probably comes from her efforts). In a related story, Baubo was responsible for cheering the goddess up - she pulled her skirt over her head and mooned the Great Mother Goddess - and it worked, the goddess drank her barley water and felt better. Then, an elder son of Celeus, Abas, accused Demeter of greediness while she drank barley water. Without thinking, Demeter threw him a grim look, and turned him into a lizard. Later, she felt bad, and decided to make Demophoon immortal. She put him in her sacred fire, chanting, to burn away his mortality. Unfortunately, Metaneira came in before the ceremony was complete, and Demophoon died. Now that was two sons dead by a goddesses hand, and Celeus began to think his house was cursed. In his weeping his name got changed to Dysaules (which means "of an unhappy house", more or less), and Demeter told him to stop weeping, because she would bestow many gifts upon his third son Triptolemus. So, she makes him "minister of agriculture" (as Bell puts it), but she's still pissed. She is the goddess of fertility and with her anger comes famine and unending winter. And there were months and months of that famine until Persephone was released. And every winter, that lack of growth continues while Persephone spends her time in the Underworld.

**The Eleusian Mysteries**

This story is famous. It is the myth that we all know surrounding the Mysteries of Eleusis (the place where Persephone was returned to her mother). But the secret myth? Well, it is a secret. The Eleusinian Mysteries intrigue many, not least myself, and I guess in part that's just the nature of mysteries. But there are many mysteries, and many secrets of women, but how many entire cults (religions) and societies deeply are so explicitly linked to them? The Eleusinian Mysteries were practiced throughout Greece for thousands of years - even Heracles was initiated into the Lesser Mysteries (there were two levels of initiation - both secret). Demeter and Persephone were at the heart of those mysteries, and although we will probably never know exactly how, isn't it good to know that the Mother and her Daughter truly were so sacred in their terrifying, nurturing, wonderful way were so sacred to the Greeks? Many people have tried to reclaim some sort of matriarchal prehistory, even me (especially when I was first starting this site and didn't know any better), but I have found that the complicated, probably quite patriarchal, but in many ways unknowable truth of the Eleusinian Mysteries is a much more fulfilling myth to pin my hopes on. Anyway, enough about me, if you want to read a little more (somewhat academic, but still really good), I suggest the book Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter, by Carl Kerenyi


	5. Hera

**Hera**  
Queen of the Gods

I sing of golden-throned Hera whom Rhea bore. Queen of the immortals is she, surpassing all in beauty: she is the sister and the wife of loud-thundering Zeus, the glorious one whom all the blessed throughout high Olympus reverence and honor even as Zeus who delights in thunder.  
~Homeric Hymn to Hera~

**Her Birth**

Hera was one of the 12 Olympian Gods of Classical Mythology. Hera was the youngest daughter of the youngest daughter of Gaia and inherited her garden. She was the third daughter of Rhea and Cronos, called the "gold-shod Hera". Like her brothers and sisters (all but Zeus and possibly Poseidon) she was swallowed by her father as she left her mother's womb, and regurgitated later when Rhea got tired of having her children swallowed. After her regurgitation Hera was tended to by the three Naiades Euryboea, Prosymna, and Acraea. At the Heraeum (an important temple of Hera's) the environs of the sanctuary is called Euryboea, the land beneath the Heraeum Prosymna, and the hill opposite the temple is named Acraea after the three nurses' attendence on the Goddess. Another story says that a man named Temenus raised Hera, and that he gave her three names. As a maiden, before she married Zeus, he called her Girl (Kore). When she married Zeus, he called her Adult (this being her most known and understood form). When she and Zeus fought, and she returned to stay in Stymphalus with Temenus, he called her Widow. The relevance here is that, from a patriarchal perspective, those are the important phases of life of a woman, and Hera is a crucial representation of the gender. Keep that in mind as you read on.

**Goddess of Marriage**

Hera was most known for her marriage to Zeus, and from her marriage with him were born three children: Hebe (the Goddess of Youth), Eileithyia (the Goddess of Childbirth), and Ares (the God of War). During their marriage she got angry at Zeus for his apparent parthenogenic bearing of Athena and responded by bearing Hephaestus without the help of a man. She was his third wife, and made no effort to persecute any of the wives or children of previous marriages of Zeus. But woe to the maiden or child formed of an adulterous union, for Hera was the jealous protectress of marriage, and was not easily placated once she felt her territory threatened. Ironically, there's nothing said about an actual wedding, rather the story goes that Zeus turned himself into a cuckoo (which is a notoriously randy bird in Ancient Greece), and when she put the little bird to her breast, took advantage.

But she was the perfect patriarchal image of what marriage was: a shrew. She wasn't very nice, not to anyone, including her children, and she destroyed anyone who Zeus even looked at sideways (of course, she was usually right in assuming that he was sleeping with them). She also went after the children of Zeus' ilicit affairs, most famously, Heracles. The result of this was the Twelve Labors, probably one of the most famous of all myths. She was ridiculously vain, as well as jealous, and jumped in a spring at Canathus once a year to renew her youthful appearance.

But despite her somewhat unattractive personality, heroes like Jason still revered her above all others, and Heracles built temples to her everywhere. Ixion lusted after her, and ended up fathering the Centaurs with a cloud imitation of the goddess, and Endymion, Selene's lover, was apparently put into his eternal sleep for lusting after Hera. She was the patron goddess of Argos (Poseidon was bitter about that), and had temples all over Greece.

**Queen of the Gods**

No bones are made of the fact that Hera was all about power. In the myth of the Golden Apple (also known as the Judgement of Paris), all started by her dramatic daughter Eris, her bid to the young hero was all the power he could imagine. She probably couldn't imagine why he ended up picking Aphrodite, but she took it out on the Trojans during the war that ensued as a direct result of Paris' decision.

She may have been Queen of the Gods, but she was still a second class citizen in patriarchal ancient Greece. Ultimately, when push came to shove (literally - Zeus actually threatened her with thunderbolts to keep her under control), she was never "the Decider." Hera deserves your attention because she most depressingly and accurately represents what must have been the reality for so many ancient Greek women (particularly the upper class ones). Long ignored by feminists and proud women, Hera represents what real agency looked like, and her fight for power over her own domain is one that deserves respect.

**Names and Epithets**

As she was worshipped in many different places, she had many different epithets (names). The following is a list of Hera's epithets that I jacked from my Robert Bell's _Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary_ (and if you are interested enough to actually read this list, you should really think about investing in his book -I highly recommend it): Acraea, Aegophagus, Ammonia, Antheia, Argeia, Bunaea, Chera, Gamelia, Henioche, Hippia, Hypercheiria, Imbrasia, Pais, Parthenia, Pelasga, Pharygaea, Prodromia, Samia, Telchinia, Zygia.


	6. Anthena

**Athena**  
Goddess of Wisdom

**Birth**

Athena was the daughter of Zeus and Metis. But there was a problem, Zeus checked up on Metis and found out that if he had a son by her this son would be mightier than him (you know, the same way he was greater than his daddy and his daddy was greater than his grandpa). So he tricked Metis and ended up swallowing her when she turned into a fly and figured she was no longer a threat. However, Metis was pregnant with Athena and when Athena was born, this turned into quite a problem. Soon Zeus was plagued with killer headaches and he ran to Hephaestus (Smith God) and begged him to open his head. Hephaestus did as he was told, and out popped Athena, full grown and ready for battle!

Other versions peg her father as Pallas (who later attempted to ravage her and she killed him without hesitation and took his name and skin). Some say her daddy was Itonus, a King of Iton. Some say her biological father was Poseidon, but that she begged to be adopted by Zeus. No matter what the story is, she never has a real mother.

Athena's birth "is a desperate theological expedient to rid her of matriarchal conditions" says J. E. Harrison. She was the Goddess of Wisdom, and the daughter of the Titaness who basically personified it. By having her born only from Zeus, it gave males authority and power over something that had previously only been a female realm. Zeus swallowed Metis, and so was able to assimilate her crafty wisdom. Athena did not have any loyalty to a mother figure, which probably played a major role in her self-description as misogynist.

**Realm**

Athena was, as I said earlier, the Goddess of more things than I can shake a stick at. But they can be pretty easily summarized into three things. She was the _Goddess of Wisdom_, _Goddess of Military Victory_ (war with good tactics and winning strategies, not just fighting, like Ares), and _Goddess of Crafts_. I need to elaborate a little more on that last one, just so you can understand her coolness. Athena invented the flute, the trumpet, the earthenware pot, the plough, the rake, the ox-yoke, the horse-bridle, the chariot, and the ship. Now that's just the "guy" stuff. She was also the first teacher of the science of numbers, and all women's arts: weaving, cooking, and spinning. If you are looking through paintings and you think you might have found something that is Athena, here is some of her iconography: the aegis (shield/fringed cloak, sometimes with the head of Medusa on it), a shield (again, sometimes with the head of Medusa), bronze armor, a helmet (this is very common), and a spear (also very common). Athena was also one of the three Virgin Goddesses on Olympus, something you might want to read more about.

**The Naming of Athens**

I am telling this story here (briefly) because it is important to Athena (I think), but there is a much better version of this, for your reading pleasure, in the Myth Pages. So! Wayyyyyy back in the day the city of Athens belonged to Poseidon. He had claimed it by coming in, striking a rock with his trident and establishing a spring. But the spring only gushed salt water, and so it wasn't very useful, even if it was kind of pretty. Many years later, during the reign of Cecrops (a half-snake dude who was the king there), Athena came in and planted an olive tree, thus claiming the land for herself. Poseidon was totally pissed off, and challenged Athena to mortal combat (he would have got his ass kicked) and Athena was about to accept except that Zeus stepped in and stopped them (he probably didn't want Poseidon killed). Instead they went before the Gods with Cecrops presenting the evidence. The Gods voted. All the males voted for Poseidon and all the Goddesses voted for Athena, except for Zeus - who refused to give his opinion. Therefore, Athena won the decision by one vote.  
Poseidon was pissed, and - like the stupid boy he was - threw a temper tantrum and flooded another one of Athena's cities (called Athenae on the Thriasian Plain). So Athena moved to Athens, took residence there and named that city after herself too. But, to help Poseidon's ego, the women of Athens were deprived of their vote, and men were no longer to carry their mothers' names.

**Love and Kids and Virginity**

Athena was loved by most everyone, and was a very loving person herself. But she loved everyone in the _filial_ sense (like a sister), and was completely uninterested in sex. There were tons of Gods who would have given their eyes to marry her, but she was completely disgusted by the idea. Once, during the Trojan War, Athena had to ask Hephaestus to make her a set of armor and weapons. She offered to pay him, but Hephaestus insisted that his only payment would be love. She completely missed the sexual innuendo and agreed. When she came to Hephaestus' smithy to pick up her stuff, he came at her and tried to ravage her. Obviously that didn't happen. Don't think to badly of Hephaestus though, it really wasn't all his fault. Poseidon had played a joke on him and told him that Athena was on her way to the smithy hoping to make violent love to him. Athena totally ran away from the unfortunate Hephaestus, but she didn't move quite fast enough and he ejaculated on her leg. Athena was completely grossed out, and wiped it off with a piece of wool that she then dropped on the Earth. That would be Gaia, and she was fertilized by the semen on the wool. Gaia was revolted at the very idea of it, and so she refused to bring the child up. Athena was fine with this and decided to bring the kid, who she named Erichthonius ("Earth-born"), up herself. There is more to this story (involving love, suicide, and people getting turned into stone), but if you want to know it, you better check it out in the Myth Pages. Unfortunately it is not there yet, so you're just gonna have to wait.

**Kindness and Temper**

In general, Athena was a really nice goddess. She was very modest, like Artemis, but much more generous. Athena, like Artemis, was surprised by an enraptured onlooker while bathing, but she didn't kill him or transform him or rip him to shreds or anything. She laid her hands over his eyes and blinded him, but gave him inward sight and the ability to understand the birds' signs to tell the future. As a result, Teiresias (that was his name) was highly respected and revered from then on. So that wasn't bad at all.

Athena was, as I said, generally cool. But every once in a while she got all pissy (as gods tend to get) and lashed out. Once, was a rather minor incident when she invented this double stemmed flute. She was really excited about it, and went around playing it everywhere. That is, until someone happened to mention that she looked absolutely ridiculous with her cheeks puffed out like that to play. She was furious and threw the flute onto the ground where it was picked up by Marsyas, but that's another story. The one time Athena really lost it for something petty was in the story of Arachne, and that story isn't even really Greek. Arachne was this Lydian princess who was a fabulous weaver. She was so good that people said she was better than Athena. Athena heard and was all like, "Excuuuuuuse me? Please girl, I was weaving before humans existed," and challenged Arachne to a weave-off. They both made beautiful tapestries, and both were completely flawless, except Arachne's made fun of the Gods. Athena was bitter and very pissed and ripped Arachne's work to shreds in a cold, vengeful rage. Arachne totally didn't mean to upset her heroine and hung herself, but Athena remembered herself, and saved the girl by turning her into a spider and giving her the ability to weave forever. In a variation on the same theme, Servius reports that Athena loved this Attic chick, but the girl (Myrmex) went out and betrayed Athena's trust by claiming to have invented the plow herself, when it was really Athena. See, if they were both mortal, there would have been all this drama, someone would have gone home crying ... but Athena just turned the girl into an ant for being so presumptuous and that was the end of that.

**Names and Stories**

Athena is often referred to in mythology, but if you don't know her names, sometimes these references can be hard to catch. She is often called Pallas, or Pallas Athene. This name comes from a childhood friend she had, a nymph, who she accidentally killed when they were having a mock battle. Athena was distraught and carried her friend's name with her forever more. The name, Pallas, means Maiden. And as Athena is often referred to in this form - which can refer to her Virginity, her Youthful Strength, or her Independence - you should definitely know what it means.  
Often you will find references to her as "gray-eyed", a reference which seems linked only to Athena and may have something to do with her wisdom. There is one weird reference by Pausanias about Athena having blue eyes. That comes from a Libyan story that Athena was the daughter of Poseidon and Lake Tritonis, and because of that has blue eyes like her father. But this story is not generally accepted, and you aren't going to find a blue-eyed Athena anywhere except on one statue next to a specific Temple of Hephaestus, so don't worry about it. Sometimes she is called "bright-eyed" but that is common to all Gods.

In Cylarabes there is an Athena called Pania. This name, I am guessing, comes from her discovery of the flute. In Athens they called her Athena Ergane (Worker) and were very devoted to her because of her crafts. The story of her patronship of Athens is really cool, and I told it above. She was called Athena Aethyia (Gannet, a type of bird), and I don't know why yet, but there was a Rock dedicated to this where the hero Pandion died.

Tritogeneia was another name of Athena's. It could have come from three different sources. _Geneia_ means "born" in Greek, and so it could be a reference to the idea that Athena was born from the Lake Tritonis. It also could have been from _tritô_, the Aeolian word for "head", therefore "head-born" - which would make a lot of sense. The other idea is that the _trito_ was from the root meaning "three" and that she was the third child (she was the third Olympian daughter of Zeus after Artemis and Apollo).

Okay - there are SO many epithets of Athena that I don't have room or patience to discuss all of them in detail, but here's a list I copied directly out of Robert E. Bell's _Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary_ (BUY IT!): Acraea, Aethyia, Ageleia, Agoraea, Alalcomeneis, Alcimache, Alcis, Alea, Amublia, Anemotis, Apaturia, Areia, Asia, Assesia, Axiopoenos, Boulaia, Budeia, Chalinitis, Chryse, Cleidouchos, Colocasia, Coryphasia, Cydonia, Ergane, Glaucopis, Hellotia, Hippia, Hippolatis, Hygieia, Iasonia, Itonia, Laosos, Laphria, Larissaea, Lindia, Longatos, Magarsia, Munychia, Narcaea, Nedusia, Nice, Onca, Ophthalmitis, Optiletis, Oxydercis, Paeonia, Pallas, Pallenis, Panachaea, Pareia, Parthenos, Phrygia, Polias, Poliuchos, Polyboulos, Promachorma, Pronaea, Pylaitis, Saitis, Salpinx, Sciras, Soteira, Telchinia, Triton, Xenia, Zosteria.


	7. Artemis

**Artemis**  
Goddess of the Hunt

**A Quick Summary** -

Artemis is a super sexy tomboy virgin goddess. Being a virgin, for her, means being at that stage in life when you are most attractive to eligible bachelors and yet still titillatingly off limits. She was a complete Daddy's girl and, endowed with the precociosity of all the gods, sat on Zeus' knee not long after her birth and demanded of him a long list of things including his word to never force her into marriage. Unlike Athena, she is very committed to her mother Leto and her defense helps gain Artemis the name "Arrow-pouring." She may have spent her time running through the woods like the hunter she was, but she still stepped up to defend herself and other Olympians against giants. Artemis was a strong protectress of young women and even young men, but expected perfection from her followers and her punishment for those who didn't meet her expectations was often death.

**The Birth of the Twins**

Artemis (as well as her twin brother, Apollo) was the daughter of the goddess Leto and Zeus. Interesting note, they got it on in quail form. Now, Hera wasn't too happy about her hubby, Zeus, messing around on her like that, and sent all sorts of horrible things after Leto (like a Gadfly and a scary dragon/serpent named Python. She also made a decree that Leto could not be allowed to rest anywhere on solid ground. Poor Leto eventually made it to Ortygia, where Artemis was born. Artemis was a really good daughter, because when she was born, she saw her mother in pain, and helped Leto over to the straits between Ortygia and Delos. There, between an olive-tree and a date palm (the two sacred trees of Leto as the Egyptian and Palestinian Lat), Artemis played midwife as her brother Apollo was born. They say that until Apollo's birth, Delos had been a floating island, but as the baby boy was spilled upon its sand, the island grew roots and had been fixed since. But even there, Hera forbid Eileithyia, the _Goddess of Childbirth_, to come to her. Eventually, the gods bribed Hera with a beautiful necklace, and Eilithyia went to Leto. Some stories say that Artemis, the first born, was a relatively easy birth, but her brother definitely wasn't. And so immediatly after she was born, Artemis became her mother's midwife and after like nine hours, brought her brother into the world. So, since then, Artemis has been considered a _Protectress of Childbirth_.

There are other versions of the birth (there always are). The one above is most widely accepted, but there are other things too. Some say that Apollo was born underground. Homer says he was born in Lycia. The Ephesians say he was born on Ortygia (near Ephesus), and two other random countries claim him as their native son as well. He is much loved, is Apollo. Artemis has more reference in the myth above. Originally (pre-Hellenic myth), Artemis was an orgiastic goddess - and as that, the quail was her sacred bird. The island of Ortygia (Quail Island) was the resting place of flocks of quails as they migrated north in the spring.

**The Making of Artemis**

Artemis was a self-made goddess. As a child, she crawled into Daddy Zeus' lap and asked him to support her in her plan to be a huntress goddess and live in the mountains. She asked for sixty nine-year-old (remember? maidenhood!) Oceanides in her retinue, twenty nymphs from the river Amnisos. She didn't care about towns, but she got 'em anyway. She also reiterated her earlier commitment to assisting women giving birth. Next stop? Bow and arrows! She got the Cyclops to make them for her, and they were silver and spectacular and they made her the counterpart of her archer brother. She didn't stop there, though. She went on to Pan, a forest-y type god, and he gave her hounds for her hunting activities. Self-made goddess all the way.

**Artemis' Bad Side**

Even though Artemis had sweet and loving beginnings, and indeed, she could love most intensely, she could also be very cold and unforgiving. This is a very god-like trait that every god and goddess (barring Hestia) has, at some point, displayed. One well-known story of her chilly personality has to do with the hunter Actaeon. This story, by the way, has a longer and better written version in the Myth Pages. But I digress. So Artemis had just had a long day of hunting, and was sweaty and gross, and ready for a nice bath. This was deep in the woods in a sacred pool, and it wasn't very likely that anyone would come upon her. But people of Actaeon's family had a history of bad luck, and he did just that. Now, every man knows that if you see a naked goddess (unless it is Aphrodite, or she invites you to see her naked) you run away, and PRAY that she doesn't notice. But either Actaeon wasn't very bright or he was so enraptured by her beauty that he didn't move. What he did was stare. Bad idea. Artemis heard him, turned around, and in fury threw water at him. As the thre droplets hit him, he was transformed into a stag. At that, Artemis whistled for his hounds, and they ripped their unfortunate master apart.

**Loyalty to Leto**

Artemis and her brother were passionate. And one person they both loved dearly, beyond each other (for their bond was almost comletely unbreakable), was their mother Leto. The twins loved and defended their mother with a passion unparalleled, and woe to the god or mortal who offended her. One such woman was named Niobe. Now, I have little pity for Niobe, because she was just stupid. She had the gall to complain loudly that people paid too much respect to Leto. She cried that Leto had only two children, where she had seven boys and seven girls. Hmmmm. Not for long, smartgirl. Once the twins heard they came to her house and Apollo shot everyone of the boys with his golden arrows of extreme pain. Artemis shot the girls with her painless silver arrows, and they all lay down on their beds and died. Some stories say that the youngest girl, Chloris, was spared, but it is unclear why. Niobe wept uncontrollably, and I think some kind god turned her into a rock.

**DON'T INSULT A GODDESS**

Like most goddesses, Artemis was not a happy camper when she was insulted. It is a generally good rule to follow, that one should not insult the gods by calling them names or even by comparing oneself to their beauty, skill, or anything else. The same rule applies with most nymphs. One idiot, for example, named Chione, bore the penalty for daring to compare herself to Artemis. She asked Apollo to tell her she was more beautiful than the goddess. This he would not do (smart man), but Artemis found out, and shot Chione. She also killed Ethemea for not sacrificing to her. Another example was when some dude forgot to sacrifice to her and she sent the Calydonian Boar to ravage everything. A girl named Gerana was turned into a crane for talking smack.

**Protectress of Maidens?**

There are two versions of this story, but the more well-known, and generally accepted version, is pretty grim. It has to do with Iphigenia. We have already clarified, I believe, DON'T PISS OFF A GODDESS, and Iphigenia's daddy, Agamemnon (see him in such blockbusters as _The Iliad_, or incorrectly but amusingly portrayed in _Troy_), blatantly ignored this most important of rules, and upon expert shooting of a deer, declared that even Artemis couldn't do it better! Bad move. Also, Iphigenia's grandad had welched on a sacrifice he was supposed to make (disrespect all thru this family!), so that didn't help matters. Anyway, time passes, and the Trojan War is about to start led by our own Agamemnon. So he starts off and then the poop hits the fan. The sea goes crazy (depending who's telling the story, there's no wind, or it's an insane hurricane) and it becomes quite clear that Artemis is making answer to their leader. Agamemnon is forced to sacrifice Iphigenia, more or less, and sends her off (telling her she's gonna marry hunky Achilles) to die. Now see, that seems highly problematic to me, because ain't this goddess supposed to be protecting dewy virgins? The Greeks were divided on this. Some say she died believing to the last she was gonna marry Achilles. Some say that Artemis turned her into Hecate. And some say that at the very last second, Artemis substituted the girl's body with a deer's and Iphigenia went off to become a minor goddess. Really, it's hard to tell, but it's easy to see that Artemis had a lot of different perceptions, and was no wilting flower.

**Leader of the Pack**

In addition to being a strong goddess in her own right, with all the foibles that accompany that, Artemis was also the leader of a band of wood nymphs (Draiads). These nymphs, like Artemis, were sworn to chastity and stuff. So when they got raped, or chose to mess around, there were some pretty serious consequences. One story is that of Callisto. Callisto had the misfortune to be raped by Zeus, and Hera turned her into a bear that Artemis promptly shot. There are a few questions about whether or not Artemis knew who she shot, but most people think she knew. Or at least I think so. There are other nymphs and women who suffered similar fates, but I will not go into them.

**Orion and Artemis**

I will not tell the whole story of Orion here, since there are many myths connected to him. Instead I will only discuss his relationship with Artemis. In my favorite version, Artemis starts really digging hanging out with Orion 'cuz he's like super-hunter dude. Now, Orion was sleeping with Eos - who was known for digging on guys already - and Apollo got worried about the chastity of his sister, and started worrying that Artemis would be as taken in as Eos. That doesn't really appear to be the case, but Apollo was jealous, so he went and arranged with Gaia to send this crazy big scorpion after him. Now, some say that this animal was just too much for Orion and killed him (and that Artemis was pissed for a while, but relented when Apollo helped her hang Orion in the sky). Another version says that Orion ran away from the scorpion - or rather, swam away to Eos' island, hoping that the Goddess of Dawn would protect him. But then Apollo told his sister that the figure bobbing in the sea was a villain who had just seduced one of her priestesses. Then he challenged her to hit the bobbing object. She did, and killed her friend unknowingly. She tried to get Asclepius to revive him, but Zeus destroyed him before he got the chance. And so ended Artemis' only romance before it could begin.

**Not Quite Classical** ... (more information than you probably want)

The myths above come mostly out of Classical mythology, and they reflect the society in which they were written - but if you're trying to really understand the depth of this goddess, you need to look a little further. As mentioned above, although the Classical stories peg her as Apollo's twin (where she tends to pale in comparison), she wasn't always a sibling. Like lots of other gods and goddesses (tho not Apollo, actually), Artemis seems to come from goddesses in a lot of different Mediterranean and eastern cultures, and she wasn't always as sweet as she appears for the Greeks. In some of her cults she was an orgiastic goddess, and in a few she required human sacrifice.

Great! Now you know the Classical stories. Really, it's the only story people bother to tell anymore. However, it's not the only story that exists. In fact, even though Artemis seems pretty overshadowed by her brilliant brother, there was a time when they weren't even considered siblings. Apollo has always been a Greek God, but Artemis was a Goddess who came from a lot of different cultures. For instance, earlier myths place her as the daughter of Dionysus and Isis or of Zeus and Persephone. It was a while before people started making her Apollo's twin, but once they did, her power seems to pale a bit.


	8. Aphrodite

**Aphrodite**  
Greek Goddess of

**A Quick Summary** -

At first I thought that Aphrodite was one of _those_ women - you know, brain dead and beautiful? She got herself (and others) into enough trouble! But she was also far more than that. Women and men turned to her for aid to ease their longing; she was seen as gentle, fierce, pure, whorish, unpredictable, complex, fickle, steadfast, beautiful ... you get the picture. Love, to the ancient Greeks, was not a fluffy bunny emotion; it often clouds your judgement, gnaws at you, and just plain hurts. Aphrodite was not even immune to that herself (see her relationship with Anchises, among others). I said this would be quick, so I'll finish up with a few more important facts: she was born from the foam on the sea, married to an ugly nice god but slept around with a gorgeous jerk of a god, and could be quite involved in the lives of mortals (see Paris and Helen, Pygmalion and Galatea, and Meliboea, to name a few). She also had a girdle that made her smokin' hot and she sometimes lent it out.

**Birth of the Love Goddess**

When you think of Aphrodite, you probably think of the painting at the right - Botticelli's beautiful white-skinned red-headed goddess sailing to shore on a shell. He got it as right as can be expected, but the truth was, there was more than one story of her birth. The most well known has to do with the first part of her name: "aphro" (it means foam), and it's mostly the one we all think about as "the real story" - try to keep in mind though that there really isn't just one correct version. So without further ado, the story of Aphrodite's birth (according to Hesiod, a Homeric Hymn, and Pausanias).

Wayyyyyyyy back in the day, there was this dude named Uranus (Heaven). Now, Uranus wasn't such a great guy. He was totally harsh to his kids and his wife, so it wasn't much of a surprise when they turned on him. Gaia (Earth), his wife, sent their youngest son Cronus against his father, armed with a sickle. So, as Cronus was throwin' his dad out of heaven, he castrated him with the sickle (we are talking some serious daddy issues). The blood from Uranus' genitalia fell into the sea, and caused a foam upon which the beautiful Aphrodite was born. She was blown to the island of Cythera and then went on to Cyprus (thus explaining a couple of her names below) with Love and Desire accompanying her (this is slightly confusing since other myths say that she gave birth to Love later, but don't worry your head about it!). As she arrived on the shore, she found the Horai (Seasons) there waiting for her dancing around like beautiful dorks. As she stepped off her pillow of foam onto the sand they clothed her in golden robes and jewels and led her to Mount Olympus. It's worth mentioning that Cyprus maintained the largest cult of Aphrodite, based on her apparent "birth" there, and she was particularly big in Paphos.

The second most popular story is the one described and alluded to by Homer (in the Iliad), Apollodorus, and Euripides (in Helen). It says that Aphrodite is not so parentless as she seems, her mother's name is Dione and her father was Zeus. This creates a couple of problems when Zeus decides he wants to sleep with her, but not for long. Not a whole lot of pretty details on story two, but I did warn you.

There are also stories that ascribing parentage to Uranus (Heaven) and Hemera (Day). And even another story that said that she was the daughter of Euonyme and Cronos. Euonyme may sound new to you. That's okay, she was new to me, too. Robert Bell says that she is an epithet of Gaia. So another Earth connection. But then Carl Kerenyi says that Euonyme is just a corruption of Eurynome (the Oceanid and Creatrix). Then there's the version that makes her an Oceanid. Try to believe all of them at once, if you can.

**Lovers**

I'm still working on this part. Trust me, there's a lot of them. She slept with both gods and mortals - but tended to prefer the former - except in the case of Adonis, but you can find that whole story in the Myth Pages. It's a story that everyone should know, as it is still referred to by "educated people." There was also her relationship with Ares, with Hermes, with Poseidon, with Zeus, and with Dionysus, with a little minor water deity named Nerites. In addition to Adonis, there was the unfortunate fling with Anchises, the lucky Boutes, and the young Phaon and Phaethon. She had a number of children from these unions, in fact, she bore children to most everybody except her husband. To Ares she bore Phobus (_Fear_), Deimus (_Dread_), and Harmonia, To Hermes she bore Hermaphroditus, the counterpart of Androgyne (there is more about them here). To Dionysus she bore Priapus - who had huge genitals given to him by Hera in disapproval for Aphrodite's promiscuity.

Some of her affairs were hilarious and some were tragic, and some just nice. I will try to remember to come back and fill in some more details when I get a chance.

**Marriage**

Marriage for upper class women in ancient Greece wasn't so much about the love, and this was just as true for Aphrodite. When Hephaestus got mad at his mommy, Hera, for throwing him off Olympus and crippling him, he tricked her into imprisonment in a golden throne. Zeus, the dutiful husband, offered up his ward Aphrodite to whoever let Hera out. Aphrodite was pretty sure Ares would be able to do it (he wasn't). When Hephaestus came back and released her himself, she was stuck with him. Sort of. It's tough to make a goddess do what she doesn't want to do.

Homer tells the story of how Ares wooed her with gifts and flowers (plus he was certainly more attractive than the lame Hephaestus). They started sleeping together, mostly in Hephaestus' bed. But Helios (the Sun) saw through the window that they were getting it on and went straight to tattle to Aphrodite's husband. Well now, he was a master craftsman - the God of such things in fact - so he made a trap with a golden net to catch them in delicto flagrante. It worked and they were caught in the act. Hephaestus, pissed off like nothing, called all of the gods to witness (and laugh their butts off at) their shame. Hephaestus got his bride-gifts back, and Poseidon (the sea god) convinced him to let the couple go (they were off like a shot in different directions). That was Aphrodite's only marriage. Well, almost the end. Hephaestus gave Harmonia, Aphrodite's daughter from the affair, a cursed necklace that screwed all of her descendants (see Semele, Agave, Ino, etc.)

**Her Realm**

Aphrodite is more complicated than most Greek myth summaries give her credit for. That said, she does have her moments - like the one about Aphrodite's work ethic. You see, the Fates alotted Aphrodite one divine duty, and one only: to make love. Perhaps sex got old for her, perhaps she had a headache, who knows, but one day Athena found her at a loom. Athena immediately complained that her territory was being violated, and threatened to abandon the loom and everything that went with it. Aphrodite, not wanting to be stuck with too much to handle, apologized profusely, and never did a day of work after that. But that is NOT all there is to this Goddess. More later, but I need to mention that she was also the patron goddess of prostitution.

**Ancient Poems**

~Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, translated by N. S. Gill~  
I will sing of stately Aphrodite, gold-crowned and beautiful, whose dominion is the walled cities of all sea-set Cyprus. There the moist breath of the western wind wafted her over the waves of the loud-moaning sea in soft foam, and there the gold-filleted Hours welcomed her joyously. They clothed her with heavenly garments: on her head they put a fine, well-wrought crown of gold, and in her pierced ears they hung ornaments of orichalc and precious gold, and adorned her with golden necklaces over her soft neck and snow-white breasts, jewels which the gold- filleted Hours wear themselves whenever they go to their father's house to join the lovely dances of the gods. And when they had fully decked her, they brought her to the gods, who welcomed her when they saw her, giving her their hands. Each one of them prayed that he might lead her home to be his wedded wife, so greatly were they amazed at the beauty of violet-crowned Cytherea.


	9. My Fave Persephone

**Persephone**

A Quick Summary | From Kore to Queen | Divine Roles | More Myths | Read More

**A Quick Summary** -

Persephone is the daughter of Demeter, and starts of being the Maiden (Kore). When she is taken by Hades into the Underworld, she becomes his wife and Queen of the Dead. After a long search (where everything plantlike on Earth died), her mama finds her and brings her back into the world, which lived anew, and thus she is also the Goddess of Spring. This cycle is repeated yearly, and is the mythic center of the Eleusian Mysteries. She is a seriously chthonic deity.

**From Kore to Queen**  
The story begins with beautiful Persephone picking flowers. We should actually call her Kore here, but, to keep from getting confusing, I don't think I will. Anyway, despite what appears to be in the Waldherr painting on the right, Persephone was not alone, she was surrounded by other maidens who were likewise picking flowers. The maidens were the Oceanids, and (according to the Homeric Hymn to Demeter) Athena and Artemis, too. But despite her beautiful and sweet and all those other saccharine-sounding companions, she managed to wander off away from them. I mean, after all, there's only so much time you can spend with a bunch of seriously sugar-y girls. So off she goes. It didn't SEEM like anything was wrong. The sun was shining bright and the flowers were blooming perfectly. But clearly we aren't looking in the right place for a portent. I'll clue you in: it was among the flowers. Yeah, there were violets and roses and crocuses and lots of other things that never actually bloom at the same time, but there were also narcissus. And as you may remember from other myths (or, more likely, you don't), the narcissus is not a happy flower. Nope nope nope. Just so's you know, some people say that the narcissus was the portent of deathly type stuff because of its narcotic capabilities - but there's other reasons, too.

So there she is, and as she leans over to pick the narcissus, the earth opens and Hades, the Lord of the Underworld jumps out. Okay. Let's take a moment out and understand WHY King Dead is coming up like so many daisies. See, it all started because Persephone was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. Now, Persephone had loyalty to her mom, first and foremost, but Zeus wasn't exactly peachy about that whole deal, and without running it by either Persephone or Demeter, he decided to tell his brother (that's Hades, folks) that he could marry our dainty little heroine (oh don't worry, she's not ALWAYS dainty). Anyway. So there's Hades thinking, "Ah, yes, a lovely opportunity to take my wife to her new kingdom," and there's Persephone thinking, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

So she gets taken down to the Underworld and Hades shows her the sights and stuff - but Persephone isn't too thrilled. Meanwhile, up above ground, Demeter is going nuts. There's a very cool story about it, but I refuse to write it three times, so until it gets to the Myth Pages, you'll have to check it out on Demeter's page. So back to the Underworld. It's really sucking to be her at this point, I mean, let's review who she is. She's called "Kore," and is, essentially the personification of girlhood ("kore" means "girl"). She's all happy and flower-y and she's the daughter of a freakin' NATURE FERTILITY Goddess! So how much of a suck would it be to win the position of Queen of the Dead - the total antithesis of everything she represented as a girl. No longer would she rejoice in flower chains (except for the ghostly gray asphodel that covers the meadows of the Underworld), nope, now she gets to wear metal on her head and sit in a shadow world (that is, without Sun) and her only sweet and beautiful companions are dead. Poor kid. Was it any surprise that she wasn't too keen on the idea at first?

All she wanted to do was go home. She moped around and didn't eat and didn't sleep and didn't do much of anything. Did I say didn't eat? Well . . . not much anyway. See, there was this one little foible: this annoying little punk named Ascalaphus (see, even his NAME is annoying) got her to eat a seed or three of a pomegranate (a fertility symbol from this story on). She wasn't thinking about it, just sort of stuck 'em in her mouth. But that was enough. Because when Demeter **finally** found her, Ascalaphus tattled about the food to Hades. Now, this may not seem like a big deal - but it had a meaning. It meant that she had to stay in the Underworld, because she tied herself to it by partaking of the food. Moral: don't take candy from strangers. Anyway, so even though her mom sorta rescued her, she still had to spend lots of time in the Underworld reigning as Queen (a third of the year, actually).

**Divine Roles**  
Persephone is called Kore (KOH-ray) as a girl. In Greek "kore" is literally the word for "girl" so this is not shocking, but it is important. Persephone as Kore was a goddess that represented girlhood. When she was raped by Hades (or in Orphic myths, when she sleeps with Zeus in the form of a dragon), she left her maidenhood. Bonnie MacLachlan wrote a great essay about how in one particular cult, the myth of her marriage to Hades was far from non-consensual, and that she became a nymph, playfully accepting her dark marriage. But however you tell the story, dark is definitely what this goddess had in store for her. While her mother, Demeter, was focused on fertility, Persephone was profoundly chthonic (check out the blog post on Dark Earthy Death Goddesses and How To Pronounce "chthonic") and in fact was even called "Chthonia" sometimes. Like her husband, she had power over the dead, but unlike him, her power extended to the living in an ever-changing cycle. She and her mother together were the principal deities of the Eleusian Mysteries, a widespread religion we still know little about.

**More Myths**  
Despite her unique status as Megala Thea (Great Goddess) in the Eleusian Mysteries, Persephone had plenty of regular old myths, too. One that Aphrodite is best known for is the myth of Adonis,. In that story a fairly equitable arrangement is reached between the two goddesses, but in others she is just as jealous as her cousins. For example, there is a story that Hades once cheated on her with an Underworld nymph named Minthe who had the arrogance to say that she was better than the Queen of the Dead, more beautiful, and that, in fact, Hades was going to make her Queen instead. Persephone couldn't have it, and either she or her mother trampled the girl and subsequently transformed her into the mint plant we know so well today. But she had pity in her, too, for it was she that released the dead Eurydice to her mourning husband Orpheus. She also released the perfect wife, Alcestis, back to the world of the living. Likewise she let Heracles borrow Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the Underworld, and even let him take his friend Theseus out of his punishment.


End file.
